MASSENA—The New York Power Authority (NYPA) today
announced that ceremonies are planned for June 24 at its St.
Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project marking 50 years of
low-cost electricity at the 800,000-kilowatt (kw) facility, which
has produced hundreds of billions of kilowatt hours for Massena
industries, upstate residents, farms and other customers.

“The St. Lawrence-FDR project—the New York Power
Authority’s first generating facility—has been indispensable to the
state’s electric power system and Northern New York’s economy for
half a century,” said Frank S. McCullough, Jr., NYPA chairman. “Its
operation is a testament to the vision and leadership of such
luminaries as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Robert Moses and the
dedication, hard work and sacrifice of the thousands of people who
contributed to the construction of this marvelous facility. It is in
recognition of those accomplishments that we’re looking forward to
commemorating St. Lawrence-FDR’s first commercial power.”

“Few generating facilities have been more important
than the St. Lawrence-FDR project, which provides some of the
least-cost electricity in the country,” said Roger B. Kelley, NYPA
president and chief executive officer. “The Power Authority also
built parks, beaches, campgrounds, wildlife refuges and other
attractions, making St. Lawrence a model for hydroelectric
development. It is a distinction being enhanced with additional
recreational and environmental improvements under our successful
relicensing of the project in 2003, along with other major NYPA
commitments for area communities over the current 50-year license
term.”

The St. Lawrence-FDR project, which began
generating power on July 17, 1958, is part of an international
project whose centerpiece is the Robert Moses-Robert H. Saunders
Power Dam, which spans the St. Lawrence River between Massena and
Cornwall, Ont. The dam’s 32 turbine-generators are divided equally
by the international border, with the two sections operated
independently by NYPA and Ontario Power Generation (OPG).

The shared power dam is indicative of the harmony
and goodwill between the U.S. and Canada, as embodied by the
International Friendship Monument that was unveiled at the
Moses-Saunders Dam on June 27, 1959, in a dedication ceremony
attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Vice President Richard M. Nixon.

The Power Authority’s founding and the St.
Lawrence-FDR project are intertwined. In 1931, then-Governor
Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Power Authority Act for the
Authority to develop the hydroelectric potential of the St. Lawrence
River. Because of controversies concerning public-versus-private
development, along with those over a companion Seaway project,
construction would not begin for another two decades.

In 1952, the International Joint Commission broke
the logjam when it granted permits to the U.S. and Canada, with the
remaining requirements for construction falling into place.

The Power Authority obtained a federal license in
1953 to develop the U.S. share of the power dam, with construction
beginning in August 1954 under Robert Moses, who had recently become
the Power Authority’s chairman. Two other dams—control
structures—and 16 miles of dikes were also built as part of the
international project along with the creation of Lake St. Lawrence.

First power occurred less than four years after the
groundbreaking, with full power flowing on both sides of the border
in 1959. This met an ambitious target set by Moses and his Ontario
Hydro counterpart, Robert Saunders, for the project to be completed
two years ahead of the original seven-year schedule.

Over the decades that followed, St. Lawrence-FDR
has served as a mainstay of clean, low-cost and reliable
electricity. Its outstanding performance has included operating
through major blackouts that affected other power plants.

In October 2003, the Power Authority received a new
50-year federal license for St. Lawrence-FDR, leading to a host of
new economic, environmental and recreational benefits to the region
stemming from various agreements.

The Power Authority’s stewardship of the facility
has also included an ongoing Life Extension and Modernization
Program. Nine of 16 turbine-generators have been refurbished, as
part of a $281 million upgrade scheduled to run through 2013.

St. Lawrence-FDR has long served as a bulwark for
Massena’s industries. Late last year, the Power Authority and Alcoa
reached an agreement in principle for the aluminum manufacturer’s
continued receipt of low-cost hydropower at its two Massena plants.
In return the company will commit to retain at least 900 jobs over a
30-year contract term and invest approximately $600 million for a
major modernization and overhaul of its Massena East smelter.

So the St. Lawrence-FDR project will continue to be
integral to Northern New York’s economy in the coming decades. The
Power Authority and the North Country can look confidently to the
future while pausing to celebrate the project’s first 50 years of
operation.

About NYPA:

■ NYPA uses no tax money or
state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of
bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of
electricity. ■ NYPA is a leader in promoting
energy-efficiency, new energy technologies and electric
transportation initiatives. ■ It is the
nation’s largest state-owned electric utility, with 18 generating
facilities in various parts of the state and more than 1,400
circuit-miles of transmission lines.